Finding the Right Router

With the gaggle of connected home products, smart TVs, smartphones, and other mobile devices ruling our lives, it's more important than ever to outfit your home or business with a wireless router that can handle the increased demand for Wi-Fi connectivity. When choosing a new router, you should consider the size of your coverage area and the number of clients, as well as the types of devices that will connect to the router. Granted, not everybody needs the kind of performance that you get with the latest and greatest models, and there's no reason to pay for features that you will likely never use, but if you have several family members vying for bandwidth for things like streaming video and playing Overwatch online, a new router can make a world of difference and help keep the peace. We guide you through choosing a router that will handle your current and future wireless networking needs, and offer our top picks to get you started.

Single- or Dual-Band?

Not all routers are created equal. Some models can only communicate over a single radio band, while others can use two. Single-band routers operate on the 2.4GHz frequency band and are typically the least expensive models out there, but they have to compete with other devices in the home that are on the same radio band, such as microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, and wireless phones. That said, they are perfectly adequate for things like Web surfing and connecting to social media services like Facebook and Twitter.

If one or more of your devices will be streaming video from a service such as Netflix, or connecting to an online gaming service such as Xbox Live, consider a dual-band router. These have two radios; one connects to the 2.4GHz band, and the other connects to the 5GHz band. The 5GHz band is typically less crowded than the 2.4GHz band and offers more throughput, with minimal signal interference, making it ideal for video streaming and gaming duty. Dual-band routers allow you to assign a band to specific applications and clients, thereby easing the load on both bands.

Then there are tri-band routers. These have three radios—one that operates at 2.4GHz and two that operate at 5GHz. These models are a good fit for multi-device households that experience heavy network traffic via lots of video streaming, torrent downloading, file transfers, and online gaming.

Wireless Protocols

Wireless Ethernet networks use 802.11 protocols to send and receive data. The most widely used Wi-Fi protocol, 802.11ac, allows for maximum (theoretical) data rates of up to 900Mbps and operates on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. It utilizes Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology, which uses several antennas to send and receive up to eight spatial streams, resulting in enhanced performance. It also supports beamforming, a technology that sends Wi-Fi signals directly to a client rather than broadcasting in all directions.

The 802.11ac protocol also offers downstream Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) technology, which is designed to provide bandwidth to multiple devices simultaneously rather than sequentially. That means up to four clients can have their own data streams instead of waiting in turn to receive data from the router. In order for MU-MIMO to work, the router and the client devices must contain MU-MIMO Wi-Fi circuitry. MU-MIMO routers and clients are still relatively uncommon, but more MU-MIMO-enabled devices, including smartphones and smart TVs, are hitting the market all the time.

You'll see 802.11ac routers with labels like AC1200, AC1750, AC3200, and so on. This designates the theoretical maximum speed of the router. For example, a router that can achieve a maximum link rate of 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps on the 5GHz band is considered an AC1750 router. A tri-band AC3200 router gives you 600Mbps over the 2.4GHz band and 1,300Mbps over each of the two 5GHz bands. It's important to note that routers rarely, if ever, reach these "maximum speeds" in real-world applications, but if you're looking for performance, consider one of the high-speed routers (but be prepared to pay a premium).

If you have devices that use an older protocol, such as 802.11n, worry not: 802.11ac is backward-compatible. If you're thinking about buying a new router now, be aware that 802.11ax (or Wi-Fi 6) is expected to make its way onto new devices in 2019. Wi-Fi 6 is expected to offer peak speeds of up to 4.8Gbps and lower power consumption. For more on the benefits of that protocol, check out our primer: What Is Wi-Fi 6? New Wi-Fi Names Explained.

Features

Wireless routers come with a variety of features, and as is the case with just about everything, the more features you get, the more you can expect to pay. Look for a router with at least four 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet ports, which allow you to connect to wired devices such as desktop PCs, network-attached storage (NAS) drives, and home-automation hubs. Having at least one USB port makes it easy to plug in a printer or a USB drive and share it across the network, but with two ports you can do both. Additionally, try to choose a router that offers removable antennas.

If you want to manage how your Wi-Fi network is being used, make sure your next router has parental controls, Quality of Service (QoS) options, and a guest-network feature. Parental controls allow you to limit network access for certain users to specific times and days and is ideal for parents who want to keep tabs on their child's online gaming and social networking activities.

A guest network lets you offer Wi-Fi connectivity to guests without leaving your entire network vulnerable. In a nutshell, you're creating a separate network for guests with a Service Set Identifier (SSID) and password that are different from your main network credentials. This lets your guests connect to the Internet, but doesn't give them access to your files, printers, and other connected devices.

With QoS settings, you can decide which applications and clients get network priority. For example, if one device is streaming Netflix video, and another device is downloading files or running a print job, you can give priority to the streaming device to avoid choppy, out-of-sync video. The same goes for online gaming; assigning a high QoS priority to a gaming console such as the Microsoft XBox One S or the Sony PS4 Pro will help eliminate lag time and improve overall gameplay.

Almost all routers offer several forms of security. A router with Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) lets you add compatible devices with the push of a button. Just press the WPS button on the router then press the WPS button on the client device to add it to your network. For a more secure connection, you can use Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA or WPA2), which requires entering a network password for each device. Routers with WPA-Enterprise security offer a higher level of security than WPA/WPA2, but require a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server to authenticate each client.

The technology currently used to assign IP addresses, known as Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), will eventually be replaced by its successor, IPv6. IPv4 is a 32-bit addressing scheme that before long will run out of addresses due to the number of devices connecting to the internet. IPv6 is a 128-bit scheme that will offer an (almost) infinite number of IP addresses. Most current routers have built-in support for IPv6 addressing, but it's a good idea to verify this if you want to be ready for the transition when IPv4 finally does hit the wall.

Price

Like anything else, router pricing is based on performance and features. A basic, single-band 802.11ac router can run anywhere from $25 to $100, give or take a few bucks. You can snag a dual-band AC1200 model for less than $100, but you will have to pay $100 to $200 for a dual-band AC2400 router with MIMO streaming capabilities. An AC3200 tri-band model with all the bells and whistles will run you a bit above or below $200.

Fast throughput speeds, good range, easy setup and manageability, a solid feature set, and, of course, fair pricing are what make a top router. These 10 recently reviewed routers span the range of pricing and strike the best balance among all our criteria right now. That changes every month as we're continually testing routers and updating this story. For the latest reviews, visit the router product guide.

How to Extend Your Wireless Signal

If you live in a large or multiple-story home, you may have Wi-Fi "dead zones." These are areas of your home where your main router isn't able to reach with a wireless signal. An easy way to solve this, without the hassle of running long cords around your home, is a wireless range extender, which will pick up your router's Wi-Fi signal, amplify it, and rebroadcast it. They come in both desktop and plug-in variations, and are relatively easy to install. They do have limitations, though: The rebroadcasted signal is typically half the strength of what you get from your main router, and they create a separate network that makes seamless roaming through your home difficult.

Wi-Fi Mesh Network Systems

If a range extender doesn't do the trick, consider overhauling your network with a Wi-Fi mesh system. This technology offers an easy way to blanket your home in Wi-Fi without the need for additional wiring, range extenders, or access points. They utilize extension nodes, or satellites, to extend your Wi-Fi signal across a larger area than most routers are capable of. Systems such as Google Wifi and the Linksys Velop employ mesh technology, where the satellites communicate with each other to provide coverage throughout your home, while others, like the Netgear Orbi High-Performance AC3000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi System (RBK50), use a dedicated Wi-Fi band to communicate with its satellite. Depending on the number of nodes in the system you choose, you can spread a consistent internet connection across as much as 4,000 to 6,000 square feet of space.

Satellites in a Wi-Fi mesh system are all part of the same network and provide seamless connectivity as you roam throughout the house, and they do not usually require any configuration or management beyond a few taps on a free associated mobile app. A number of the solutions in this category support high-end features like guest networking, device prioritization, parental controls, and MU-MIMO, but because Wi-Fi mesh systems are designed to be simple, in most cases you won't be able to access the same kind of in-depth settings you can on routers. For that reason, power users and compulsive tinkerers might not love Wi-Fi mesh systems, but for everyone else who finds network setup intimidating, these are among the friendliest and most innovative options you can find today.

Bottom Line: The Linksys EA6350 is a dual-band router that offers blazing 5GHz throughput speeds, four Gigabit LAN ports, and a fast USB port. And it rings up for less than $90, making it our top pick for budget Wi-Fi routers.

Bottom Line: The Linksys WRT32X Wi-Fi Gaming Router uses the Killer Networks Prioritization engine to make sure you have plenty of bandwidth for online gaming. It also offers fast 2.4GHz and file transfer performance.

About the Author

As a Contributing Editor for PC Magazine, John Delaney has been testing and reviewing monitors, HDTVs, PCs, servers, and other assorted hardware and peripherals for more than 14 years. A 13-year veteran of PC Magazine's Labs (most recently as Director of Operations), John was responsible for the recruitment, training and management of the Labs technical staff, as well as evaluating and maintaining the integrity of the Labs testing machines and procedures.

Prior to joining Ziff Davis Publishing, John spent six years in retail operations for Federated Stores, Inc. before accepting a purchasing position with Morris Decision Systems, one of New York's first value-added resellers of the original IBM PC. For ... See Full Bio